William h



w. H. APPLEBY. LATCH.

. APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. I9IB. 1 ,304,244. Patented May 20, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w. H. APPLEBY.v

LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. 191s.

Patented May 20, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

am TW/Ag @44 WILLIAM E. APPLEBY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LATCH. s

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. APPLEBY,

-a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Latches, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to latches, frequently. known in the trade as locks, especially for the doors of automobiland other vehicles, although ,it will be understood that the device is applicable to a variety of situations where a simple, eiective, and inexpensive device is desired.

The general object of the invention is to provide a' structure having a minimum number of parts and one which may be applied to the door with a minimum amount of labor. The specific objects, relating to structural 'expedients, will be understood as the description proceeds.

I accomplish my objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a face view of a" structure embodying my invention. It is shown mounted upon a door.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

F Fig. 3 is a plan section on the line 3 3,

Fig. 4 is a face view of a similar device,

showlng a modified-form of mechanism for operating the .main lever? Fig. 5 is a plan section on the line 5 5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an edge view ofthe face plate shown in Figs. 1 to 5.

Fig. 7 is an edge view of a face plate which is similar to the one shown in Fig. 6, except that the barrel is rectangular instead of cylindrical in cross section.

Fig. 8 is a face view of a face plate in which the barrel'instead of being locatedat the lower end of the plate is located between the upper and lower ends. v

9-9, Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line Fig. 10 vis an edge view of the form of face plate shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

Fig. 11 is a erspective view from the inner side of a ace plate showing the type of lock illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3.

' Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the .manner of mounting the device upon the door.

Speciication. of Letters Patent.

Patented May 20, 1919.

Application led Hay 4, 1918. Serial No. 232,490.

F1g. 13 1s an end view of the inner end of the barrel showing the manner of formingthe tongues or stops for backing up the sprlng.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring irst to the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 12 and 13, the face plate 1 1s designed to lie flush with the inside of the door. It consists preferablyof sheet metal, the lower edge of which is bent up to form a cylindrical barrely 2. This barrel 1s tangential to the plane of the plate and forms a guide for the bolt 3. The bolt is also cylindrical and has a beveled nose 3a operatlng in the usual way. The inner end 1s backed up by a helical compression spring 4, one end of which abuts the bolt and the other end abuts the Istops 5. These stops are formed by slotting the inner end of the barrel for a short distance and turnlng inward the tongues, thus formed, as shown in detail in Fig. 13. By preference, the rear end 3b of the bolt is trunco conical, as best shown in Fig. 3. A at bot' tomed recess 7 is formed in the side of the bolt for accommodating the lower end of the main lever 8. This lever is pivoted to the back of the face plate by means of a pin 10. The result of this construction 1s that the lever not only engages the bolt to retract it, but prevents it from rotating about its longitudinal median line as an axis. A slot 12 is formed in the .top of the barrel for the entrance of the'lever, said slot being elongated sufficiently to permit the necessary movement. At its upper end the lever has a handle 14 which projects through the slot 15 in the face plate, and

operation will now be readil understood.'

A counter-sink 21 isusually ormed on the inner surface of the door for accommodatin the face plate, although the plate may, wit equal eiect, be simply fastened to the plane surface of the door. 22 is made for accommodating the lever 8 A rabbet or chamber in its different positions. A vbore 23 is cut in the door at the lower end of thev into contact with the surface of the door,

after which it is screwed to the door, the plate being provided with screw holes 25 for the purpose. It will be noted by referring to Fig. 12 that by using this form of device the edge of the door is left intact, except in so far as it is completely lled by the .face plate itself; that is to say, it is not necessary to cut away any part of the edge of the door (for example, at the point 26, 12)- to permit the vlever or any other part of the device to pass when the device is being inserted. Consequently, no filler plates or flanges are necessary to impart a finished appearance to the installation. This is true notwithstanding the fact that the edge of the plate itself comes. Hush with the end of the door. After the lock has been installed, the bolt may be retracted by manipulating the handle 14 of the lever; and by pivoting the lever between its ends, as best shown in Figs. l and 11, the necessary travel of the bolt may be obtained by a comparatively slight movement ofthe handle. Thus the slot 15 is comparatively short.

From the foregoing, 1t will be evident that the device consists of extremely few parts;

viz., the face plate with its integral barrel,

the bolt, the spring, and the lever. This reduces the cost of-y manufacture to a minimum, and reduces the amount of labor required to install it. No loose plates or pieces are necessary to impart a nished appearance to the job after the face plate has been secured in position, and the devicemay be said tobe a flangeless latch or lock. The barrel gives a long bearing for the bolt and a curved bearing surface, well adapted to withstand the shocks of many slammings of the door and, viewed as a whole, there is, practically speaking, nothing to wear out. The device may also be said to have an anti" rattle construction, for it will be noted that the trunco conical or beveled inner end of the bolt seats snugly in the forward end of the helical spring and that the thing which limits the outward movement of the bolt is the engagement of the lever handle 14 with the end of the slot 15.`

Thus, everything is tight and by making the spring reasonably strong, there is no danger ythat the vibration of the vehicle will produce any rattling of any of the parts.

The form shown in Fig. 7 is similar to the one hereinabove described, except that the barrel 30 instead of being cylindrical is rectangular in cross section.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10 the barrel 35 instead of being formed at the lower end of the plate is formed at an intermediate point. In this event, thev lever 36 is pivoted at its lower end 37.

In the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the barrel is formed at the lower end of the face plate and is cylindrical, but the main lever 8 instead of being operated by a handle at its upper end is operated by a lever 40 journaled in a sleeve 41, fastened to the face plate, and having at its inner squared end an arm 42 which lnormally lies in contact with the rear edge of the main lever. The arrangement is such that if the lever 40 is rotated in either direction from normal, it will retract the bolt. It is desirable that arm 42 have a flange 43 which overlaps the lever and thus acts as a keeper to prevent the lever from becoming disengaged from the arm.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A door latch having a plate adapted to lie substantially Hush with the surface of the door, a barrel formed on said plate and lying behind the plane thereof for the purpose of being embedded in the door, a bolt slidable in said barrel, and a handle for actuating said bolt, said handle passing from the bolt forward through and beyond the plane of the plate whereby it may be grasped on the side of the plate opposite 'to the barrel.

2. A door having a plate adapted to lie substantially 'flush with the surface of the door, a barrel formed on said plate and lying behind the plane thereof for the purpose of being embedded in the door, a bolt slidable in said barrel, and a handle for actuating said bolt, the handle passing from the bolt forward through and' beyond the plane of the plate, and the1 plate being slotted to accommodate the plate-penetrating portion of the handle.

3. A door latch having a plate adapted to lie substantially flush with the surface of the door, a barrel formed tangential with the plate and adapted to lextend back into the body of the door, a bolt slidable in the barrel, a lever behind the plate and movable in a plane parallel and adjacent thereto, said lever engaging the bolt and there being an opening in the barrel adjacent to the plate for permitting the movement of the lever, the lever passing forward throu h the plane of the plate whereby it may e grasped from a point in front of it.

4. A door latch having a plate adapted to lie substantially ush with the surface of the door, a barrel formed tangential with the plate at one edge thereof, and adapted to be embedded in the body of the door, a

bolt slidable in the barrel, a lever mounted on the back of the'plate and movable in a plane parallel and adjacent thereto,`said lever engaging the bolt, and the barrel having an opening for` accommodating the lever, a handle at the side of the plate opposite to the barrel, said handle being fastened to the lever` and the plate having a slot through which the handle may reach the lever.

5. vA door latch having a plate adapted to lie parallel with' the plane of the door and substantially flush with the'surface'thereof, a bolt, a barrel adapted to be embedded in the body of the door and being formed by bending the plate backward upon itself so the raw edge lies back of the plate,'said plate having an opening in it, and a handle in front of the plate and passing through said opening to the bolt for manipulating the latter.

6. A latch comprising a face plate bent to form a cylindrical barrel, a cyhndrical bolt slidable in said barrel, a lever for retracting said bolt, said lever being adapted to prevent rotation of the bolt in the barrcland nipulating the lever said plate having an opening through whlch the handle connects with the lever. f

8. A latch comprising a bolt, a sheet meta face plate, one portion whereof is bent to the bolt, a helical spring engaging the back end of the bolt for projecting said bolt, and

a back stop for the bolt formed by infoldv vthe bolt from rotating. form a barrel behind the plate for receiving 9. A latch comprising a sheet metal face plate, one end of which is rolled backward 'to form a barrel, a bolt sliding in said barrel, and a helical spring backing up said bolt, the back end of the barrel havlng an integral tongue bent inward to form a backing for the spring.

10. A latch comprising a face plate, a cylindrical barrel at the back thereof, a cylindrical bolt fitting slidingly in said barrel, and an operating lever mounted to swing in a plane parallel to the plane ofthe plate, behind said plate, the bolt having aflat bottom depression formed in its side adapted to accommodate the lever, whereby the movement of the lever causes the bolt to slide in the barrel and the presence of the lever prevents the bolt from rotating.

11. A latch having a face plate, a bolt, a

guide for said bolt substantially surround- 12. `A latch having a face plate, a cylindrical barrel integral therewith, a cylindrical bolt fitting slidingly within the barrel, the bolt being beveled at the inner end, and

a'A helical spring backing up the bolt and snugly fitting on the beveled end of the bolt for preventing rattling.

13. A angeless latch having a sheet metal face plate bent up cylindrically at one end to form a cylindrical guide for the bolt, a bolt fitting in said guide, a lever plvoted to A the back of the plate, the bolt having a 'lat` depression in the side, and the leverpassing between the bottom of the depression and the back of .the plate and thereby preventing In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name'.

WILLIAM H. APPLEBY. 

